When he retired from basketball, Grandison, 61, set his sights on a new career as a professional pickleball player. There was only one thing holding him back: his arthritic hips.
“I just tried to manage it through my own way of working out and trying to stretch, sitting in the hot tub, all these different things. Icing. And nothing took care of it. It just got worse and worse,” he said.
Not only was it hard to play pickleball, the pain made it hard to go for walks with his wife, Barb, and get a good night’s sleep. He also noticed he had increasing back pain and limited flexibility.
“Being in pain all the time was a tough situation,” he said.
When the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) recommended Endeavor Health’s orthopaedic experts, Grandison reached out.
“Ronnie was getting some progressive hip arthritis on both sides,” said Trevor Bullock, DO, a sports medicine physician with Endeavor Health. “He’d wake up in discomfort and he’d limit his activity throughout the day because of it. His imaging and his exam were consistent with his hips really just breaking down.”
Dr. Bullock recommended Grandison connect with Ravi Bashyal, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon with Endeavor Health and Medical Director for the NBRPA, to talk about hip replacement surgery.
Dr. Bashyal, who specializes in ultra-minimally invasive hip and knee replacement surgery, said there is minimal disruption to the muscles during the procedure, which can lead to a quicker recovery. In fact, most patients are able go home the same day as their surgery, he said.
Though Grandison lives in the Cincinnati area, he was able to prepare for his surgery virtually. In February 2025, he came to Chicago for the procedure at Endeavor Health Skokie Hospital, stayed in a hotel that night and headed home a couple days later, Dr. Bashyal said.
He even walked down the hospital hallway hours after surgery. Recovery time for Grandison’s surgery is about 6 to 12 weeks but he said he was feeling better even sooner.
“I thought I’d be down for a while, but it was about two weeks and I was able to walk without a cane or the walker,” Grandison said. “I was really surprised how quickly I recovered. I can't tell you how much pain I was in, and now I have my life back.”
Grandison is grateful for the care he received at the Endeavor Health Orthopaedic & Spine Institute, which brings orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, physiatrists, pain management specialists and rehabilitation therapists together under one systemwide program. Each patient benefits from a coordinated approach to care — not just professional athletes.
“Wanting to play with your grandchild after years of working as a construction worker is just as important as Ronnie wanting to play pickleball after years as a retired basketball player,” Dr. Bashyal said.
Both Grandison and his wife noticed how they felt during his treatment at Endeavor Health: Like a person, not a number.
“My experience with Endeavor Health has been great from day one,” Grandison said. “I never had surgery before, so I didn't know what to expect. But the whole process has been seamless.”
“I totally would recommend Endeavor Health, and not just for the surgery … but the nurses, the staff, everyone was just absolutely fabulous and caring and right there the whole time,” Barb said.
The surgery has changed Grandison’s life, Barb said.
“We're both very active people and I saw him limit what he would do or how he would move,” Barb said. “Now it's like the door’s open. We're going hiking, we’re walking together, he's playing pickleball. That’s the true Ronnie that I know. He’s back.”
